**README FILE TO REPRODUCE RESULTS OF "FROM THE FRINGE TO THE FORE: LABOR UNIONS AND EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION"**

**SECTION [A]- REPLICATION FILES AND A SHORT DESCRIPTION**
**NOTE: ALL REPLICATION FILES ARE IN THE FORM OF STATA .DO FILES**

i) union elections.do

Cleans and merges three files covering all National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union elections held between 1961 and 2009. The three source files are as follows: 

a) nlrbv3.dta- covers elections held from 1961-1990
b) fy1991_1999.csv- covers elections held from 1991-1999
c) fy2000_2009.csv- covers elections held from 2000-2009

The three databases are combined to create the master union elections dataset, called merged_elections_1961_2009.dta.

This replication file does not directly produce any of the figures or tables in the paper, but the master union elections database is
merged with the Multinational Enterprise database and the Compustat files in the other replication files to produce all the paper results in a manner that will 
be enumerated in the remainder of this section.

ii) linking_unions_with_MNEs_2.do

This program cleans and assembles the BEA Multinational Enterprise Surveys conducted between 1983 and 2009, and then links these firms with constitutuent 
establishments represented in the 1983-2009 union elections database so that all analysis of the linked datasets can be carried out. 

First, I implement the record-linking algorithm to match establishments holding union elections with their enveloping firms in the MNE Enterprise. I inspect and
validate all matches, as detailed in Appendix C. Then I merge the matched firms with the BEA MNE Surveys so as to link the election results with annual reports of
employment and compensation data. Finally, I run all analysis (compensation) of the firms represented in the MNE Survey.

The source files used are:

a) merged_elections_1961_2009.dta- created in the union elections.do file
b) $filepath\par_1983_2013.dta- the BEA MNE Survey aggregated across 1983-2013, which are separately recalled using the SQL server. 
The directory is masked in keeping with data safeguarding protocols.
c) naics_sic.dta- a crosswalk between NAICS and SIC codes to make pre-NAICS years survey data compatible with those of post-NAICS years.

This file creates Figures 1(a),5,6, and 12, along with Table 1(Left Panels),2(Left Panels),3,4,5(Top 2 Panels), and 9-12.

iii) linking_unions_with_cpustat.do

This program cleans and assembles the Compustat database drawn from 1979 through 2009, and then links these firms with constitutuent 
establishments represented in the 1983-2009 union elections database so that all analysis of the linked datasets can be carried out. 

First, I implement the record-linking algorithm to match establishments holding union elections with their enveloping firms in Compustat. I inspect and
validate all matches, as detailed in Appendix C. Then I merge the matched firms with Compustat so as to link the election results with annual reports of
employment and compensation data. Finally, I run all analysis (compensation and pension contributions) of the firms represented in Compustat.

The source files used are:

a) merged_elections_1961_2009.dta- created in the union elections.do file
b) $filepath\79_2014_cpustat_emp.dta- the Compustat data pulled from 1979-2009. The directory is masked in keeping with data safeguarding protocols.

This file creates Figures 1(b) and 7, along with Table 1(Right Panels),2(Right Panels),5(Bottom Panel),6(Bottom Panel), and 7.

iv) MNE_benchmark_analysis.do

This program cleans and assembles the BEA Multinational Enterprise Benchmark Surveys conducted in 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004, and then links these firms
with constitutuent establishments represented in the 1983-2009 union elections database so that all analysis of the linked datasets can be carried out. 

The linked unions-MNE database is a subset of the linked database created in linking_unions_with_MNEs_2.do. The difference is that this linked file is instead
merged with benchmark year survey data, which tabulates annual wages and benefits separately.

The source files used are:

a) $filepath\unions_with_us_ids.dta- An intermediate database which links the names of MNEs with establishments holding union elections
b) "$filepath\wages_benefits_89_94_99_04.dta"- the BEA MNE Benchmark Survey aggregated across 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004, which are separately recalled 
using the SQL server. The directory is masked in keeping with data safeguarding protocols.

This file creates Tables 8,13, and 14.

v) rd_graphs_MNE_data.do

This file takes values of employee compensation and employment, aggregated at the vote share or vote margin bin, and constructs mean values of the outcome variables
over time along with their associated standard error bars.

The source file used is:

a) $filepath\rd_graph_ln_diff_wages.dta- contains aggregated values of outcome variables for use in all non-histogram figures.

This file creates Figures 2-4 and 8-11.

**SECTION [B]- DATA DICTIONARIES**

There are three primary databases for which data dictionaries are provided:

i) the union elections database
ii) the BEA MNE Survey 
iii) the BEA MNE Benchmark Survey
iv) the Compustat database

i) the union elections database is accompanied by a PDF titled, el30093_chips_documentation.pdf, which serves as the data dictionary. This file was kindly provided
by Henry Farber. These data constitute a comprehensive list of all recorded NLRB elections occuring between 1961 and 2009.

ii) The MNE Survey is an annual survey conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which tracks the business activities of approximately 2,500 large multinational
enterprises whose parent company is based in the United States. 

*Data dictionary*

us_id 			A unique identifier for each enterprise of the Multinational Enterprise Survey
foreign_id		An identifier for each foreign affiliate plant associated with the MNE. Value is 0 for all firms in the current study as only the parent company is tracked.
year			the year in which the survey is conducted
naics_id		North American Industry Classification System code associated with the parent company
sic_ind			Standard Industrial Classification code associated with the parent company
net_income		revenues of the parent company less losses
emp			the number of full-time employees working for the parent company
emp_compen		total compensation paid out to full-time employees of the parent company
sales			sales, total
sales_us		sales, to U.S. persons
sales_fa		sales, to foreign affiliates of this U.S. Reporter
sales_oth_fgn		sales, to other foreigners
goods			sales of goods, total
goods_us		sales of goods, to U.S. persons
goods_fa		sales of goods, to foreign affiliates of this U.S. Reporter
goods_oth_fgn		sales of goods, to other foreigners
invest_income		investment income, total
invest_income_us	investment income, to U.S. persons
invest_income_fa	investment income, to foreign affiliates of this U.S. Reporter
invest_income_oth_fgn	Investment income, to other foreigners
name			the name of the business enterprise
us_inc_tax		income taxes paid by the parent company to the United States government
depl			depletion
depr			depreciation
rd			R&D reported by the U.S. Reporter
cap_gl			Certain realized and unrealized gains(losses)
income_from_eq		income from equity
int_recd		interest income
int_paid		interest expensed or capitalized
net_ip			net interest paid
ibt_etc			indirect business taxes paid
oth_tax			other taxes paid
prod_royal_govt		Production royalty payments for natual resources, total
prod_royal_fed_govt	Production royalty payments for natual resources, to the Federal Government
prod_royal_oth_govt	Production royalty payments for natual resources, to State and Local governments
oth_income		other income
cog			costs of goods sold
costs_exp		costs and expenses, Total
cash			cash
curr_rec		Current receivables
inventories		Inventories
oth_curr_assets		Other current assets
ppe_net			Property, plant, and equipment, net
eqty_invest_uncons_us	Equity investment in unconsolidated U.S. domestic business enterprises
eqty_invest_fa		Equity investment in foreign affiliates
oth_noncurr_rec		noncurrent receivables
oth_noncurr_assets	other noncurrent assets
trade_pay_curr		Trade accounts and trade notes payable, current
oth_curr_liab		Other current liabilities and long-term debt
oth_noncurr_liab	Other noncurrent liabilities
liab			Liabilities, Total
own_eqty		Owners Equity
inventory_basis		The primary basis of inventory evaluation
curr_noncurr_rec	current and noncurrent receivables
curr_liab_ltd		current liabilities and long-term debt

iii) the BEA MNE Benchmark Survey is a quinquennial survey conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in years ending in 4 and 9, which tracks the business 
activities of approximately 2,500 large multinational enterprises whose parent company is based in the United States. These surveys provide a more in-depth view 
than does the annual survey.

In addition to all of the variables provided in the annual MNE surveys, the Benchmark survey includes the following variables (amongst others, which are not listed):

mgmt_emp		Managerial, professional, and technical employees
rd_emp			Research and development employees
oth_emp			All other employees
wages_salaries		Wages and Salaries
emp_benefits		Employee Benefit Plans
mgmt_compen		Compensation for Managerial, professional, and technical employees
oth_compen		Compensation for all other employees

iv) the Compustat database collects financial statement information--including income statement, balance sheet, and cash flows--for approximately 9,000 
publicly traded companies over time.

I list only those variables used to construct the sample dataset, which make up only a small subset of the variables available in Compustat.

*Data dictionary*


name			the name of the publicly traded company
year			the database year
ein			employer identification number
statecode		the state abbreviation of the state in which the company headquarters are located
city			the city in which the company headquarters are located
state			the state in which the company headquarters are located
sic_			Standard Industrial Classification code associated with the company
naics			North American Industry Classification System code associated with the company
emp_			the number of full-time employees at the firm
pension_		employer contributions to employees' pension plans
emp_compen_		total employee compensation
number			internal unique identification code for each employer

**SECTION [C]- DESCRIPTION OF SOFTWARE USED**

All analysis was conducted in Stata 14 and Stata 15, 32-bit versions. 

The Compustat data was accessed through the software program Research Insight (North America) Version 8.4, which serves as a front-end to the Standard & Poor's
Compustat database.

All analysis was performed on a Windows 7 32-bit Operating System.

**SECTION [D]- DATA AND/OR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING PROPRIETARY DATA**

i) The disaggregated union elections data are provided in three discrete files. 'fy2000-2009.csv' covers union election results from
2000-2009, 'fy1991-1999.csv' covers union election results from 1991-1999, while 'nlrbv3.dta' covers the 1961-1990 period. Instructions for cleaning and merging
these data sources are provided in the file referenced in Section [A], 'union elections.do'.

*PROPRIETARY DATA ACCESS INFORMATION*

ii) The BEA Multinational Enterprise Survey is a proprietary database assembled and owned by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Due to the sensitive nature of these
data, I am prohibited from directly providing the data to interested researchers.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has a program for special sworn researchers, allowing them to access its Multinational Enterprise (MNE) Survey. Information and 
guidelines for how to apply for and use these data are provided on the following webpage: https://www.bea.gov/about/research_program.htm.

As stated explicitly on the webpage, "the International Economics Directorate of the Bureau of Economic Analysis maintains a program that permits outside 
researchers to work on site as unpaid special sworn employees of the Bureau for the purpose of conducting analytical and statistical studies using the microdata 
on multinational companies and international service transactions it collects under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. This work is 
conducted under strict guidelines and procedures that protect the confidentiality of company-specific data, as required by law. Because the program exists 
for the express purpose of advancing scientific knowledge and because of legal requirements that limit the use of the data to analytical and statistical 
purposes, appointment to special-sworn-employee status under this program is limited to researchers."

To access these data as an outside researcher, one must submit a proposal/data request to James Fetzer at james.fetzer@bea.gov.

iii) The Compustat database, which contains a monthly and yearly panel of information and market data on over 9,000 publicly traded U.S. companies, is available to 
all individuals possessing a Full North American Compustat subscription. A subscription can be purchased by calling a Standard & Poor�s representative at 
1-800-357-0769, or directly through their website, www.compustat.com.

In my particular case, the institution with which I am employed has a subscription to this database. Other researchers can, without restriction, purchase access to 
these data as well in order to replicate the results of my study.